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Issues of Divisiveness (1:10-6:11)Divisions over Leaders and Wisdom (1:10-4:21)The Problem (1:10-17)Paul has received some communication from Chloe, who evidently is concerned about divisiveness in the church (1:11). The problem was not that people disagreed with each other. The problem was how that disagreement was handled. People started taking up sides and entering into factions. Paul names these factions by the leaders that each side followed. It is not that these leaders were the cause of the factions, [1] but people had taken up causes which these leaders seemed to represent. In fact, Paul in 4:6 says that he is using himself and Apollos in a figurative way because if he were to mention the real leaders or the real issues, he would be giving credence to these factions. In fact, Paul is aghast that his name would be being used for one of the factions, for he did wasn't the one crucified (1:13). Nor did he come with any special cleverness of speech, but only to preach the cross of Christ (1:17). Divisions Resulted From the Pursuit of Wisdom (1:18-31)The Foolishness of God is Wiser than Man (1:18-25)By choosing sides based on human leaders, the Corinthians are looking not to the cross of Christ, but to the eloquence and wisdom of men. The Greeks were attracted to knowledge, rhetoric and wisdom, just as the Jews were attracted to miraculous signs (1:22). But for all the Greeks pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, it never led them to God (1:21). So God decided to do something the world would consider foolishness. He decided to send his Son to die on a cross to save humanity. Since we couldn't reach God through our wisdom, God became foolish to reach us. To the Jews, the cross is a stumbling block (1:23), for the cross is not a miraculous sign of God's power, but a sign of weakness. But the weakness of God is greater than the strength of men (1:25). To the Greek, the cross is foolishness (1:23), for how wise is it for someone to willingly die on a cross? But the wisdom of God is greater than the foolishness of men (1:25). But for those who are called, for those who believe, the cross is the very power of God! (1:24) God chooses the Foolish and Weak (1:26-31)Paul calls on the Corinthians to think honestly about themselves. God has chosen them not because they are wise, strong or noble (1:26). God chooses the foolish and the weak in order to shame the wise (1:27), so that no one is able to boast of their own salvation (1:29). Righteousness, sanctification and redemption are not obtained through wisdom and knowledge as the Greek philosophers would have you believe, but through Jesus Christ (1:30). The Wisdom of God Comes through the Spirit (2:1-16)Paul uses the Corinthians own salvation experience as evidence that God uses foolish and weak people. Paul wasn't eloquent or full of wisdom when he preached to them the gospel (2:1). All he did was preach Christ crucified (2:2). Therefore, the Corinthian's faith is not based on wisdom or rhetoric, for Paul has none of those things (2:4). Instead their faith is based on the power of God. The gospel Paul preached to the Corinthians was full of wisdom, but not the wisdom of the world (2:6). The gospel, instead, contains the mystery of God's wisdom (2:7). But the world doesn't recognize this wisdom, for if it had, it would have recognized Jesus as the incarnation of that wisdom and therefore the world would not have crucified him (2:8). God's wisdom is only revealed by the Spirit of God (2:10). So the natural man who does not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can not understand God's wisdom (2:14). No one can know the mind of God. But because believers have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, believers have the mind of Christ (2:16). Christ is the Foundation of the Church, Not Men (3:1-23)When Paul preached to the Corinthians, he was not as eloquent as Apollos would be. But he couldn't exhibit this kind of eloquence, because as unbelievers, the Corinthians did not have the Spirit of God indwelling them (3:1). Therefore, he only gave them spiritual milk, not solid food (3:2). However, their very divisiveness demonstrated that even though they had the Spirit of God, they hadn't progressed very much beyond the spiritual milk that Paul had given them. Their divisiveness showed that they were still living according to the flesh, not the Spirit (3:3-4). Paul recognizes that Apollos may have been more eloquent than he, but both he and Apollos were merely agents of God (3:5). Paul may have planted, and Apollos watered, but God is the one who caused the growth (3:6). Both will be rewarded according to how faithful they were, and even the Corinthians are fellow workers partaking in God's building project (3:9). Paul laid the foundation of the building, and Apollos built upon that foundation (3:10). The foundation itself is Jesus Christ, and that foundation will always remain (3:11). But if someone builds on that foundation, if it is built out of hay, wood or stubble, the building will not remain (3:12-13). So Paul and Apollos' work can be judged only by the quality of their workmanship. If what they built lasts, God will reward them (3:14). If it does not, they will suffer the loss (3:15). Only God, not the Corinthians, can judge the motives of Paul or Apollos (4:5). The church is the temple of God. When there is divisiveness, that is tearing down the church, and therefore it is equivalent to tearing down the temple of God (3:16-17). Therefore, the Corinthians need to quit thinking they are so wise (3:18a). It is only when we realize our own foolishness that God can, through the Holy Spirit, begin to teach us wisdom (3:18b). Therefore the Corinthians needed to stop boasting in the wisdom of men (3:21), for they belong not to Paul or Apollos, but to Christ (3:23). Paul Defends His Authority over the Corinthians (4:1-21)God will judge Paul's motives (4:1-7)Christian leaders should be regarded only as servants of God and stewards of the mystery of God (4:1). God will hold those leaders responsible for their stewardship of God's mysterious gospel (4:2). But it is not the place of the Corinthians to judge Paul's motives (4:3). They don't know Paul's motives, only God does (4:4). When the Lord comes back, He will bring to light the motives all persons, including Paul (4:5). Therefore, the Corinthians should not be judging Paul or thinking that they are somehow better than he (4:1-6). Indeed, the Corinthians have no wisdom except what they received from Paul (4:7). The Corinthians are not better than the apostles (4:8-13)The Corinthian believers thought that through their pursuit of wisdom, they had obtained the kingdom of God already. They had already achieved their glorification, and therefore the resurrection of the body was unnecessary (15:12). They believed that through the pursuit of knowledge and the Greek philosophical idea of wisdom, they could achieve the kingdom of heaven before Christ's return. But Paul tells them that the kingdom of God is not found in words, put in power! (4:20). The Corinthians think they have already obtained the riches of their inheritance and already reign as kings in the kingdom (4:8a). Paul, in his most sarcastic tone, wishes that he might also be able to reign as kings with them, (4:8b) for life for him was pretty miserable. But if it were possible to achieve God's kingdom through the pursuit of wisdom, why was it that the apostles had not realized the kingdom (4:9)? Why were the apostles suffering persecution, hunger, poverty, homelessness (4:11). Why were the apostles being executed for their faith if it were possible to achieve the kingdom any other way (4:9)? If it were possible to be glorified in the present world, why had the apostles become, not kings, but the scum of the earth and the dregs of all things (4:13)? Paul warns of His coming (4:14-21)Paul tells the Corinthians to not get all high and mighty and think that they have transcended through their wisdom beyond what he had taught them (4:15). Indeed, some were so arrogant in their “wisdom,” thinking that Paul would never return to defend himself (4:18). But Paul is going to return to Corinth, and he will then test to see if indeed their wisdom had ushered in the kingdom of God (4:19). If the kingdom has been realized, then where's the power? (4:19b-20). The Corinthians have a choice at this point. Paul is going to come back to visit them. They can choose what that visit will be like. Will Paul be coming with a rod of discipline or with love and gentleness? (4:21) FootnotesCharles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible , (Chicago: Moody Press), 1995, p. 1823. [Next: Divisions Over Church Discipline]
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